17 January 2022

India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) has commenced cement production at its upgraded 2.9Mt/yr Murli cement plant in Maharashtra. The company invested US$125m to install a new fueling system, waste heat recovery (WHR) plant and solar power plant at the facility. It acquired the plant from Murli Industries for US$55.2m in 2020.

The new commissioning brings Dalmia Cement (Bharat)’s total installed capacity to 35.9Mt/yr.

China: Tangshan Jidong Cement says that it expects its consolidated net profit to drop by up to 3.5% year-on-year to US$441m in 2021 from US$457m in 2021. Its full-year cement and clinker sales were 99.7Mt in 2021, down by 7% year-on-year.

Philippines: The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) has approved the grant of tax incentives to San Miguel Equity Investments a for the construction of its 2Mt/yr Mindanao cement plant. The Manila Bulletin newspaper has reported that the producer will pay no tax on its income from the plant during its first two years of operations, and reduced taxes during the subsequent five years.

The FIRB said that it expects the US$195m plant to stimulate downstream businesses, promote the use of energy-efficient equipment and lead to a transfer of knowledge and increased productivity in the underdeveloped area where it will be located.

Australia: Aluminium company Alcoa of Australia has extended its contract for the supply of lime from AdBri subsidiary Cockburn Cement until January 2023. Business News Western Australia has reported the value of the extension as US$18m – 25.3m. Alcoa of Australia switched to using imported lime at its Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup refineries in Western Australia in June 2020. Prior to this, it had bought a total of US$50.5m-worth of lime from Cockburn Cement.

Adbri’s managing director Nick Miller said "The extension reinforces our position as a reliable and high quality supplier of lime through our local manufacturing and distribution network across Western Australia, supporting local manufacturing jobs, the resources sector and the broader Western Australia economy."

Hungary: Kirchdorfer Gruppe subsidiary Kirchdorfer Concrete Solutions has agreed to sell a 49% stake in prestressed concrete sleepers producer MABA Hungaria to railway overhead line construction company Firma Vasútvill. Austria-based Kirchdorfer Concrete Solutions will retain its majority stake in the company.

Kirchdorfer Gruppe CEO Michael Wardian said that the group was delighted to have secured a strong partner for its Hungarian operations.